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Elf Brothers and the Call of the Wild

I was on vacation so no restaurant. This also covers two weeks.

Monday: An Angel at My Table (1990)
          This is a movie in three parts based on the autobiography of the New Zealand author Janet Frame. The first part is about her childhood. Her family is very poor. She is often bullied. Her family faces tragedy. Through it all she discovers her love for stories and her ability to write. In the second part she has mental problems in college and early in her career. She is misdiagnosed with schizophrenia and spends eight years in an asylum. The third part is about her becoming healthy. She finds a peaceful place to write. She gets better. Janet is able to get a grant that will allow her to travel through Europe and write. She has many adventures. I thought this movie was interesting. I liked it ok.

Sunday: 6 Underground (2019)
          There is a group of six agents who are working to do what the government can't. They are ghosts. They can't be traced. They don't exist. The group go after the most dangerous criminals. Their first target is a wealthy warlord. They have to bring down all those around him to get to him. His brother is their choice to take his place and be the leader of the country. The warlord is very well protected so it is hard to bring him down. I thought this movie is ok. Ryan Reynolds is entertaining as the leader of the group. That was the only thing I liked. It was pretty violent, with no real purpose to it.

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Tuesday: The Call of the Wild (2020)
        This based on the classic novel. Buck is a big dog who is too wild to be a house pet. He is sold off to men who need sled dogs in the Yukon. He is abused. Once in the Yukon he is luckily bought by a nice couple. They use sled dogs to travel through the Yukon delivering mail. Buck has to learn how to be part of a team and how to work hard. Times change and he is no longer needed as a sled dog for the mail route. He is bought again by a man who doesn't know what he is doing and put all the dogs at risk. Buck is saved by a man who has also suffered. Buck and the man, John, travel to the wilderness. This is where Buck finds out his true nature. I thought this movie was good. It was well done. Although some of the animation was not the best. When I read this book I remember it being more serious. The movie was serious but the animation of Buck takes away from it a little. He is too goofy. He does look like a real dog. I get why they used animation. It just didn't give me the right feeling.

Friday: Onward (2020)
         Onward takes place in a fantasy world. There used to be magic, but they found an easier way to do things. They discovered electricity and other modern inventions. Ian is an elf teenager living in the modern world. His father passed away when he was very young. But he left a gift for Ian for when he turned sixteen. It is a spell that will allow Ian and his brother Barley to see him for one day. Ian tries to do the spell but it goes wrong. Only the bottom half of his dad comes back. The brothers have to go on a quest to retrieve a crystal that will allow them to finish the spell. This is a really good movie. It is an original story. As with most Pixar movies there is humor as well as some sad parts. The one thing I did find weird was the short before the movie was from The Simpsons. I know Disney bought Fox, but that just seems weird. The two just don't really go together.

Saturday: The Last Black Man in San Fransisco (2019)
        Jimmie is obsessed with his childhood home. They lost it when he was young, but he goes back to visit. He doesn't like how the current owners are neglecting it so he will do repairs when they are not home. They are not happy about this. Jimmie doesn't see reason and continues to go to the house. He lives with his friend Mont at Mont's grandpa's house. Mont is an aspiring writer who is loyal to Jimmie. When the current owners also lose the house it is left empty. Jimmie moves in. He gets all the original furniture back from his aunt and makes it his own. He is desperate to hold onto the house no matter what challenges he faces. This is a beautiful movie. The cinematography and writing are great. There is this really great sequence at the beginning of the two friends riding a skateboard through San Fransisco. It was well done. There is an almost Wes Anderson feel to the movie. At least in the way they talk. But then you have this great cinematography that makes it unique. I don't know why I waited so long to watch this movie.

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